PICHER, Okla. — It is easy to tell you’re arriving in Picher, Oklahoma. The mounds of leftover mining waste, called chat, is still there. The town is not.
There is a small memorial with details of the town’s history. It sits next to a gorilla mascot statue celebrating the 1A Football State Champs of 1983.
WATCH: Closer look: Tar Creek Superfund Site in 2026
A county building across the street was being used until January of 2026. It is unclear what it was used for, but 2 News was told a fire damaged it during the winter storm.
A block or so of abandoned housing units is there. There are danger signs on them, and “keep out” is spray-painted on the brick.
One of the only signs of life is inside one unit, though. It’s been renovated and is run by the Quapaw Nation. The tribe has partnered with the federal government to lead chat mitigation.
When we visited, only the housekeeper was there.
A representative for the Quapaw Nation told us by phone that the chat mitigation is an active, ongoing process. The workers wear personal protective equipment and are tested for lead each month.
The chat is taken to a repository.
Picher was once a town of up to 20,000 people, when the Tar Creek area was mined for lead and zinc to make bullets during the world wars.
Local News
Mines that turned Picher into ghost town still 50 years away from full cleanup
Eventually, the mining operation ceased, leaving 30 million tons of chat. Contaminated dust blew around the town, making residents sick.
The government offered buyouts to residents to get them to move. Some refused.
In 2008, an EF-4 tornado killed six people, destroyed 160 homes, and wiped the town out.
While a $600 million remediation effort has been going on for 40 years, it is estimated it will take 50 more years.
As of 2025, roughly ten of the 120 million tons of chat in the entire tri-state contaminated region has been cleaned up.
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